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JURY DUTY RIP OFF Beware the sheriff is a crook.Mo Bradley consumer advocate advises on how to save money and side step rip offs. If you have a good money saving tip you wish to share, send it to Mo at: mobradley@yahoo.com This particular scam is so sophisticated and vile that I just could not wait to blog it so that potential victims could be warned. This is how it works. As all citizens of the USA know, they could be called upon to do Jury Duty at any time,and by law they have to comply, it is not an option. What criminals are now doing, is to call up random people, and tell them that they were summonsed to Jury Duty but failed to appear, and now are facing charges from the local Sheriffs Department. It is totally fake. The FBI has warned about this issue on their website http://www.fbi.gov/page2/june06/jury_scams060206.htm and you can read about it there. The victim will usually protest that they never received the summons and then the “official” will say, well let me see if we have the correct Mr. or Ms so-and-so (Your name) and ask for your social security number and date of birth. They ask your home address and may even go as far as asking your mother’s maiden name. Once they have all this information together with your phone number they are good to go and tell you, don’t worry, they will check on it and if you don’t hear anything further you can rest assured that it was mistaken identity. You never hear from them again, of coarse, but you will find many accounts being opened in your name and your credit file will go south. Collection agencies will start harassing you for debts you did not make. Now I know it is very difficult to refuse to give a so-called “official” your details when they are threatening you with arrest, so here is a tip. If you don’t have the courage to say to the person that you don’t believe they are genuine, rather just give information that is not exactly correct. Give your social security number but switch it around. If your Social starts 554 85 say 445 58. You can always say you were nervous. Your date of birth should be switched. For 10/06/1977-say 06/10/1977 or for 6th October say 16th October and so on, a slight mistake but enough to prevent anyone using it for identity theft. In fact whenever you are asked your date of birth on an internet site, always use a bogus date –NEVER EVER PUT YOUR REAL DATE OF BIRTH ON ANY INTERNET SITE OR APPLICATION FORM. Mo Bradley consumer advocate advises on how to save money and side step rip offs. If you have a good money saving tip you wish to share, send it to Mo at: mobradley@yahoo.com |
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